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News Archives

Photos

03.05.2011 - A few photos of variable quality from the
final weekend are now here.
Further contributions welcome any time, to this address: web4ncl/ÄT/hotmail/DÖT/co/DÖT/-u-k-/.

Urgent message

02.05.2011 - Any player who has lost a laptop during
round 11 should make contact with David Welch.

15.04.2011 -
We are planning to have a captains' meeting
at 9.30am on the Monday of the final weekend. In advance of that, I
should be grateful for any agenda items you would like raised please.
Given that there are likely to be a number of such items, it may be that
we will have no time for AOB, so if you want to raise something it would
be probably be sensible to get it on the agenda.

Potential items for discussion that spring to mind (culled in the
main from ecforum) include:

1. Div 1/Div 2 format.

2. Div 3/Northern League format.

3. Time limits.

4. Default penalties and fines.

5. Board order rules/junior ratings.

6. Other rule change suggestions.

However, I won't add any of the above to the agenda unless/until a
captain is willing to "sponsor" it by leading the discussion.

Apologies for the earlier than usual start, but with the final round
starting at 11.00am and with possibly a lot to get through I thought it
sensible to err on the side of prudence.

Players or team wanted?

15.04.2011 -
Just in a case you haven't recently looked,
see a list of players seeking teams, and
vice versa here.
Also, it would be helpful to everyone if you
could contact us
if and when your ad needs removing.

J4NCL report

13.04.2011 - Many thanks
to Claire Summerscale for
this
pictorial report about the third and
final weekend of the Junior 4NCL
season.

Fischer's idea in the Modern Benoni

09.04.2011 - FIDE Master Graham Morrison (Barbican
2) has recently posted an article on Chess.com about
his game in Round 7 in the 4NCL. Also for those of you that might
have missed it, download a
Chessbase file
which shows how Graham achieved an IM norm last season.

Division 3, Round 9 fixtures
- Dave Thomas

09.04.2011 - Channel Isolani have announced that they
are unable to field a team for the final weekend; a
triangular match has
accordingly been arranged. The three teams involved in this will, as
usual, play the second half of the triangular in round 10; pairings for
the remaining teams for round ten will be published at the venue
following completion of round nine. Pairings for round 11 will be
published after completion of round 10; these will, if still necessary,
include a further triangular match of which only one day will, of
course, be played. [Round 9 fixtures are
here.]

27.03.2011 - The first two
PGNs from this weekend in Div 1 are now
available- with thanks to Katie Smith.

Power cut fun at Staverton Park

27.03.2011 - A power cut
occurred during round 8 of the 4NCL chess league at Staverton Park
today. The surrounding area of some 200 homes was also affected. Play
was halted to allow everyone time to consider suitable options.

After 30 minutes an announcement
that a delay of 3 hours could be possible sparked everyone into action.
After a further few minutes and a short but
well-natured debate, players took the initiative and moved the tables
closer to the windows
to provide more light on the boards.

A decision about the Round 8 Sunday games will be made on Saturday
evening when the teams go into their new groups -
David Clayton.

Clocks go forward

23.03.2011 - Don’t forget to set your clocks forward
by one hour on Sunday 27th March, officially the start of British Summer
Time. You will be losing an hour but round 8 on Sunday will start
as usual at 11.00am.

BST operates from the last Sunday in
March until the last Sunday in October and the UK moves its clocks forward
from Greenwich Mean Time by one hour
to GMT+1.

Div3n jamboree pairings

22.03.2011 -
These are now available
here for round 8. The board
pairings are the same as the match pairings from rounds 1-6.

Final weekend: Bedroom availability
(2)
- Mike
Truran

19.03.2011 -
I should have
mentioned in my previous message - if captains are holding block
bookings that they are unlikely to need, could they if possible release
them sooner or later so that those currently without rooms get a chance
please. Human nature being what it is I guess it's unlikely to happen,
but all I can do is ask.

For future seasons we could always
revert to having split venues for all weekends if that's the general
wish. The divisions were only brought together in the way they were
because that's what we thought the Division 3 teams in particular
wanted.

Time control reminder

19.03.2011 -
The rate of
play is 40 moves in two hours, then 20 moves in one hour and an extra 30
minutes for each player to complete the game. It is a seven-hour
session. See additional match arrangements details
here.

18.03.2011 -
As some of
you will be aware, Barcelo Hinckley Island is now full for the Saturday
night of the final weekend. Barcelo Daventry have therefore agreed to
offer rooms at the usual 4NCL rates for anyone who wishes to stay there.
Although not an ideal arrangement given that Daventry is some 20 miles
away, some people, especially those with cars, may wish to avail
themselves of this. Contact details are on the
Hotels page.

13.03.2011 -
Click here
for information on how the Rd 8-11 pool pairings for Divisions 1 and 2
will be determined
- with thanks to Neville Belinfante.

Division 3 Pairings

05.03.2011 -
Pairings for rounds 7 & 8 in Division 3s are
now available- with thanks to Dave Thomas.

Round 6 pgns

01.03.2011 - The following are now available - Div1a rd6, Div1b rd6. Div 2 and Div 3
are imminent - with thanks to the game inputters.

More photos

26.02.2011 -
Several
photos from Division 3 at Sunningdale have been sent in recently -
with thanks to Sean Terry (Oxford).

4NCL Top Teams Victorious

24.02.2011 -
A short report about weekend 3 is now online
at the
Chessbase German site. We are bereft of
photos this time round but there is still
time to send: web4ncl/ÄT/hotmail/DÖT/co/DÖT/-u-k-/your
contributions!

J4NCL report

23.02.2011 -
Many thanks
to Claire Summerscale for
this
report on the second weekend of the
Junior 4NCL season.

Northern 4NCL third weekend

22.11.2011
-
John Carleton's report about his
teams endeavours during rounds 5&6 at the
Majestic Hotel in Harrogate is
here.

Photos

22.02.2011 - There are some images from the Division
3 (nl) matches from Harrogate
here
- with
thanks to David Pardoe (Manchester Manticores).

Weekend 3 report

21.02.2011
-
A report from
the third weekend of the season is available
here- with thanks to Lawrence
Cooper.

Round 5 pgns

21.02.2011 - The following are now available - Div1a rd5, Div1b rd5, Div2a rd5, Div2b
rd5, Div3s r5, Div3n rd5&6 - with thanks to the game inputters.

Live Games Weekend 3

18.02.2011
- We intend to broadcast at least
four matches this weekend starting at 14:00 on Saturday and 11:00 on
Sunday.

18.02.2011
-
On Saturday 19th Feb there is a race meeting
at Ascot which might cause delays for
anybody approaching Sunningdale via
Bracknell and Ascot. It is advisable to
allow extra time or avoid that route if at
all possible - Rod Langham.

Updated registrations

11.02.2011 -
Some new registrations have been
added to the
lists
today. Please contact
Neville Belinfante if there are any
errors etc.

New registrations -
February 2011 - from Neville
Belinfante09.02.2011 -The new lists will be used on the
19th & 20th February. Players can still be registered up to this
Thursday midnight (10th), and these will be also be shown. Please
contact
Neville Belinfante
if there are any errors, or players who should be registered are not
shown.

Rapidplays 2011
- from Mike Truran

31.01.2011 - I've booked the next
4NCL Team and Individual Rapidplay Championships as follows:

27.01.2011 -
Rounds 3 & 4, Division 3 are now available
here - with
thanks to the game inputters.

Division 2 PGN's

25.01.2011 -
Rounds 3 & 4, Division 2 are now available
here. Moves from 2b Round 3
and all Division 3 still to be added.
Apologies for the delay.

Possible traffic delays -
from Rod Langham
(Oxford).

25.01.2011 -
On Saturday 19th Feb there is a race meeting
at Ascot which might cause delays for
anybody approaching Sunningdale via
Bracknell and Ascot since that road goes
past the main entrance to the racecourse. It
is advisable to allow extra time or avoid
that route if at all possible. De Vere
Sunningdale is the venue for Div 3 rounds 5
& 6.

Division 3 Pairings

22.01.2011 -
Pairings for rounds 5 & 6 in Division 3s are
now available- with thanks to Dave Thomas.

Awards presentation

20.01.2011 - Some photos from the
recent awards presentation at Hinckley have been sent in, one of
which includes a walk on part by a well known GM! - with thanks to
Peter Bayliss (KJCA Kings).

PGN Games

19.01.2011 -
Rounds 3 & 4, Division 1 are now available
here. Many
thanks as usual to the hard working game
inputters.

4NCL mit Adams und Howell

19.01.2011 - Lawrence
Cooper's second weekend report has been
featured on the new
Chessbase German site and includes
several pictures from the 4NCL gallery.

Northern 4NCL second weekend

19.01.2011
-
Thanks to John Carleton
(Spirit of Atticus)
for
this report abouthis teams'
outingduringthe 2nd Northern
Leagueweekend in Crewe.

Weekend 2 report

18.01.2011 - An
illustrated report from the second weekend
of the season is available
here- with thanks to Lawrence
Cooper.

17.01.2011 -
I understand that the Harrogate Majestic room allocation will be
released tomorrow, so if you need rooms now would be a good time to
reserve them. Just a reminder that:

Your credit card is NOT debited at the time you make a
reservation. This happens at the weekend itself.

You can change your reservation up to two weeks before the
weekend itself without penalty.

So there is no downside in securing your bedroom bookings now before
the allocation is released. If you leave it until after tomorrow though
there is a good chance there won't be rooms available given the
Majestic's popularity and the general shortage of rooms.

Round 4 results - 16th Jan

16.01.2011 - These are now online for
Div1a, b,
Div2a, b,
Div3s and
Div3n. Tables will be online too as soon as possible. Apologies for
the delay or any inconvenience caused.

Photos

16.01.2011 - There are a few photos
here from Saturday. More to follow. Please send any you would like
included on the website or for the report to
web4ncl@hotmail.co.uk.

14.01.2011 -
Photo contributions from this weekend would again be gratefully
received. Especially useful would be any taken at the Northern League
matches in Crewe. Please forward (or send a link) to the webmaster: web4ncl/Ã„T/hotmail/DÃ–T/co/DÃ–T/-u-k-/
, many thanks.
Click to see the current
2010/11 collection.

CHESS Magazine - File update

12.01.2011 -
An updated 29 page PDF of the
London Chess Classic
report is available for download. It now features clickable adverts
(pages 15 & 29) so you can subscribe directly to CHESS, buy the
January issue, visit the webshop, buy back issues or buy Classic 2010
souvenirs.

11.01.2011 - Our Barcelo
account manager has asked me to mention that the Harrogate Majestic room
allocation is released at the start of next week. As you probably know,
the fire last year means that not all of their bedrooms are back in
service yet (they only have 88 in total apparently), so once our 25
rooms are released back for public purchase there is likely to be high
demand for them. I strongly recommend that if you are planning to stay
at the Majestic you should, if at all possible, book this week.

Updated registrations

07.01.2011 -
Some new registrations have been
added to the lists and a number of rating
corrections made today. Please contact
Neville Belinfante if there are any
errors, or players who should be registered
are not shown.

CHESS Magazine - January 2011 (updated)

06.01.2011 -
Download CHESS Magazine's coverage of
the London Chess Classic 2010, a full
tournament report featuring round-by-round
coverage of all the best games and featuring
exclusive annotations from world champion
Vishy Anand and England's Luke McShane.

The 2nd
London Chess Classic saw another victory for Magnus Carlsen who ends the
year atop the rating pile again after a rather uneven 2010. The tournament
attracted many more spectators, the auditorium was regularly full and the
commentary room packed to overflowing.

The event received a huge number of plaudits for the
online coverage which set new standards with live audio, video, telestrated
boards and post game analysis from the players themselves. The online
commentary was enjoyed by an astonishing 160,000+ users.

05.01.2011 -
The new
lists show the ratings from the January
FIDE Rating List which will be used on the
15th & 16th January. Players can still be
registered up to this Thursday midnight
(6th), and these will be also be shown.
Please contact Neville Belinfante: neville/ÄT/belinfante/DÖT/demon/DÖT/co/DÖT/-u-k-/if
there are any errors, or players who should
be registered are not shown.

J4NCL Important Information
from
Claire Summerscale

27.12.2010 - As many of
you will know, there were a number of
organisational problems with the 13-14
November J4NCL weekend at Barcelo Oxford. We
have subsequently had a number of
conversations with Barcelo Oxford and have
jointly concluded that for a number of
reasons (including the size of the hotel,
the difficulty the hotel had in coping with
the playing and non-playing numbers
involved, the financial loss that the hotel
made on the event, including refunds to
disgruntled non-chess playing guests, and, I
am afraid to say, the behaviour of a number
of parents during the weekend) it would not
be appropriate to continue with it as a
venue for the J4NCL. Any rooms booked at
Barcelo Oxford for forthcoming weekends have
been cancelled at no charge
... continued

New booking arrangements
from Mike
Truran

02.12.2010 - As many of
you will know, the issue of block-booking
(block-overbooking) followed by late bedroom
cancellations has been an issue for a number
of seasons, and has also been commented on
from time to time by our various venues ...
[Read
more]

J4NCL report

23.11.2010 - Many thanks
to Claire Summerscale for
this report
on the first weekend of the Junior 4NCL
season.

17.11.2010 -
Andrew Camp has kindly sent a
pictorial report about his team's first
weekend in this year's Junior 4NCL
competition.

Good news gets around

16.11.2010 - Lawrence
Cooper's weekend 1 report has been
translated by Chessbase for their new German
site and published
here including several pictures. Well
worth a look.

J4NCL first weekend

16.11.2010 - Many thanks
to Claire Summerscale for managing to take
some
fine photos during a very busy weekend
in Oxford.

Northern 4NCL first weekend

10.11.2010 -
John Carleton (Spirit of Atticus) has
published a nice report about his teams
exploits at Redworth Hall in Darlington last
weekend.

Weekend 1 report

10.11.2010 - Many thanks
to Lawrence Cooper for
this report on the first weekend of the
season.

More photos

09.11.2010 - Some new
photos from last weekend have been
provided today - with thanks to Pat
Bennett (Holmes Chapel) and Sivakumar
(Metro).

Division 3 rounds 1 & 2

09.11.2010 - Revised
versions of the results for rounds 1 & 2 for
Division 3 have been posted. They now
include penalties for defaults and the
results of the
Triangular match.

Photos

08.11.2010 -
There are some photos from Divisions 1&2 at
Daventry
here- with thanks to Chris Briscoe.
A few Northern League photos are also
here.

Round 1&2 pairings/results

07.11.2010 - These are now
posted for Divisions 1&2 pools a&b, Division
3 and Northern league. With thanks to
Neville Belinfante and Dave Thomas.

Weekend 1: Photos request

05.11.2010 - If anyone has
a sudden urge to take some nice digi photos
on Saturday or Sunday then please go ahead!
Original sized jpg or png's would be ideal.
Please forward (or send a link) to the webmaster: web4ncl/ÄT/hotmail/DÖT/co/DÖT/-u-k-/
, thank you.
All contributions will be acknowledged -
Steve Connor.

PGN Games

05.11.2010 - If you play a
4NCL game this weekend and put it into
Fritz, we would appreciate it if you send us
the PGN to
gameinputters@gmail.com. Please include
full name(s) with ratings (using the
recently updated
FIDE
database if necessary) so we can match
them up with the players!

This might help us speed up the process, and
hopefully find any errors. This is
particularly relevant to the Northern League
which Jack won't receive games from until
next week -
Alex Holowczak.

Weekend 1: Division 3
pairing adjustment

02.11.2010 - Celtic Tigers
2 are unable to raise a team for the 1st
weekend's Division 3 matches. As a result
there will be a three way jamboree between
KJCA Kings, Metropolitan & Iceni. This will
be match 17 on both Saturday and Sunday, in
place of the
previously announced pairings for these
three teams and Celtic Tigers 2 - Dave
Thomas.

New registrations

29.10.2010 - The player
lists have been updated to show the most
recent
registrations - with thanks to
Neville Belinfante.

Junior 4NCL
accommodation -
from Claire Summerscale.

Holiday Inn, Oxford

26.10.2010 -
In regard to Junior 4 Nations Chess League
accommodation on the 13th November 2010, the
Barcelo Hotel Oxford is now full, but should
you wish to, you are able to book rooms in
the
Holiday Inn, which is less than 1 minute
away from the Barcelo.

Children under 12 stay and eat free at
the Holiday Inn. Under the favourable terms
that I have negotiated for you, a single
room including breakfast is £70 and a double
is £80. The hotel will put a free sofa bed
in each room for a child under 12.

You can contact the hotel directly on:
01865 888400 for Zoe Court or 01865 888301
for Samiie Weeks. Could you please quote the
chess group booking code C3U when reserving
your accommodation. Note: The Barcelo
Oxford and Holiday Inn are no longer venues
for the J4NCL during the 2010/11 season
(27 Dec 2010).

Weekend 1, Barcelo
Daventry travel news
- thanks
to Brian Smith.

26.10.2010 - Buses D1 or
D2 leave from
Northampton Rail Stn. approx every 30
mins for the 14-mile journey stopping
outside Daventry Barcelo. The journey to the
hotel should take 30-40 mins. Travellers
arriving at Rugby or the nearer Long Buckby
Stns. are advised to get taxis.

26.10.2010 - After further
discussions, it has been agreed that the
September 2010 FIDE rating list will be used
for board order purposes at the November
weekend. The November 2010 FIDE rating list
will be used for rating and norm
calculations on the basis that this is when
the new season starts. - Mike Truran.

Team registrations

23.10.2010 - The starting
registrations are now online using the
ratings from the September 2010 list.
Contact Neville Belinfante if you have any
queries.

20.10.2010 -Rounds
1-7 are now available for
Division 1
Sections A&B and
Division 2 Sections A&B. Division 3 and
Northern League will be posted over the next
few days.

Welcome to the new
4NCL website.

20.10.2010 -
After a decade of honourable service as the
4NCL's webmaster Peter Sowray has decided to
hang up his spurs. I'm sure I speak for all
of those involved in organising the 4NCL
when I say that I'm hugely grateful for
Peter's work over the years on the 4NCL's
behalf and the continuing excellence of the
4NCL website. He will be a hard act to
follow! - Mike Truran.

The new contact address: web4ncl/ÄT/hotmail/DÖT/co/DÖT/-u-k-/
should be used for feedback, queries and
information for the website.

2010/11 Season

19.10.2010 - We're going to keep a
running list of the teams who have entered
for next season
here. You'll also see information on
which teams have registered players to date.

Rapidplay Report
2010.

19.10.2010 -The 4NCL
rapidplay report is is
now available
here. With thanks to Lawrence Cooper.

12.10.2010 - The 4NCL held its
individual and team rapidplay championships
at
Harben House for which entries were
invited from all interested players. For
those of you with long memories, the format
was not dissimilar to the now defunct
British lightning championships (held
between 1953 and 1992), with the individual
championship being held on the Sunday.